


Collect Call

by kiite



Category: One Piece
Genre: Father-Son Relationship, Fluff, Gen, i love this fucking FAMILY
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-20
Updated: 2019-11-20
Packaged: 2021-02-16 05:03:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21502324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiite/pseuds/kiite
Summary: Sanji calls Zeff.
Relationships: Aka Ashi no Zeff | Red-Leg Zeff & Vinsmoke Sanji
Comments: 23
Kudos: 352





	Collect Call

**Author's Note:**

> takes place post-WCI, pre-Wano.
> 
> I feel like for at least a little while after whole cake island Sanji was like... still a little more emotionally vulnerable than usual. rare sanji honesty hours have to take advantage of them

Sanji chewed his lip as he waited for the transponder snail to connect. The longer it rang, the more of his nerve he lost; it had taken him a good ten minutes to actually dial, and now he was ready to back out. _It’s fine, he’s probably busy, I’ll just call back—_

“Hello?” Zeff’s gruff voice barked through the speaker, making Sanji clutch the receiver tightly. 

“Uh…” Sanji started, realizing all at once he had no idea what he actually wanted to say. He hadn’t planned on getting this far. “Hi. It’s Sanji.”

“You think I wouldn’t recognize the whiny brat I raised for eleven years?” Zeff asked, impatient as ever. “Get on with it, then. I can give you three minutes, tops. Those idiots in the kitchen still can’t seem to handle dinner service on their own.”

Sanji looked out the window at the midday sun. Oh, yeah. Time zones. 

“Keep your pants on, shitty geezer. It won’t take more than two.” Sanji rubbed absentmindedly at the wood grain, unsure what to do with his hands. “Is everything going okay?” 

“It would be better if I was in the kitchen right now,” Zeff grumbled. When Sanji didn’t respond, he tried another answer. “It’s fine, eggplant. You haven’t called since you set out, why the sudden concern?”

 _Because my shitty not-dad told me he sent assassins to the Baratie to threaten me, and I know it wasn’t a bluff, because he’s really that shitty_ , Sanji wanted to say, but decided against it. “Just checking, is all.”

They fell into a momentary silence, long enough for Sanji to grow concerned that Zeff might have hung up, before Zeff took the initiative and spoke. 

“Saw you in the newspaper,” he grunted, his tone impossible to decipher. “Didn’t know you were in the business of fighting Emperors now.”

Zeff had seen the newspaper, so he had certainly seen Sanji’s wanted poster. If he wanted to ask about the name on the poster that was not Sanji’s, or the change from “Only Alive” back to “Dead or Alive”, or even why Sanji was supposed to be married as reported in the article, he gave no indication. He was as blunt and neutral as ever, and Sanji was unspeakably thankful for it.

“Not planning to make a habit of it. She was in the way.” 

“She may be a pirate, brat, but you better not have kicked her.”

“I think I was too busy trying not to get killed,” Sanji said with a humorless laugh. A genuine smile found its way onto his face, and he felt warm inside. He’d been feeling that way a lot since he had returned to the Sunny.

“I know I said it back when, uh— when I left, but…” _God, why is this so awkward?_ Sanji wondered, trying to keep his voice level. “I just… Thanks, old man. For everything.”

“You hit your head or something?” Zeff asked with amusement. Sanji would have kicked him if they were in the same room. 

“Shut up!” Sanji snapped, hoping the transponder snail in Zeff’s office wasn’t conveying his blushing. “I spent some time stuck in a shitty situation, and… it made me appreciate all you’ve done for me, ever since I was a kid. I know the only real way I can thank you is by finding the All Blue, but I still wanted to say it. So… thanks, for—“ _taking me in, teaching me to cook, loving me,_ “—keeping me around for all those years. I’ll be twice the cook I was by the time I get back, promise.”

His declaration was followed by silence, as neither man quite knew how to deal with Sanji’s uncharacteristic candidness. The longer he had to think about it, the more embarrassed Sanji grew about his words. He hadn’t planned to say that much, it just… happened. 

“Sanji—“

“Oh, you probably need to get back to the kitchen, huh!” Sanji cut in, voice wavering from nervousness. “It’s been more than two minutes, so I'll go. Don’t want Patty to burn down the kitchen ‘cause he can’t figure out how to use the fryer. Bye, Dad.”

Sanji slammed the receiver down so fast the transponder snail startled. He put his head down in his arms, cheeks burning. _Did I seriously just call him “Dad”?_ Sanji groaned, pressing his forehead against the wood. _I can never go back to the Baratie now. They’ll never let me live it down._

A few oceans away, Zeff returned to the Baratie’s main kitchen, a tear or two still clinging to the edges of his eyes— not that he would ever admit it.

**Author's Note:**

> another classic kite fic of just two characters talking. add it to the collection


End file.
